AMBER

"That doesn't explain why you're going against Paragon."

That's it. There was no way I would get even the minimum amount of sleep required by a human body during a trip to war. It was unfair. Highly, unfair. 

I shifted in my seat and with a low groan, straightened up, shaking my head to move my bangs out of my eyes. From the rearview mirror, Kris saw me and gave a slight nod. I quirked my eyebrows as a subtle response and cracked my neck. Chen turned around and smiled and I waved. Well, at least some sane heads here. 

Hoya had asked the question and it was obvious who it was directed to. L was now sitting next to Yoona and Krystal next to Baekho. Baekho seemed a little more interested in Krystal's poker face than Hoya's words but eventually, he sighed and replied. 

" happens," he shrugged. I scoffed and he looked at me. 

"What a pity party you are," Krystal murmured and rolled her eyes. Read my mind, that girl. 

Baekho furrowed his eyebrows and with his entwined hands, signalled up ahead. "Look we're almost there. Long story short -- a lot of innocent lives were killed for completely juvenile reasons. If it makes you feel any better, I was responsible for half of them."

My stomach tightened and I cleared my throat. Awkward. 

Baekho was right though. Many of us had decided to pick up our weapons only after being shaken by a personal tragedy. My parents were from Taiwan and after enjoying years of autonomy and independence from China's umbrella government, they were one of the many lawyers who could not take the fact that a completely new system, a newborn experiment was going to take over their lives. They were shamelessly executed in public and the very next day, protests had stopped. 

I had heard of Woohyun through L. I was in Japan when I heard of my parents' murder and while I was grieving in the cold interiors of Narita airport, a man whimsically strode up to me and asked, "Parents, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, boyfriend, girlfriend, friend..... Who did they take away from you?"

Let's just say things had pretty much looked up for me since then. 

I still don't know what L was doing there in Japan. I do remember it being after Woohyun's brother and fiance were killed, so I figured that Woohyun had taken over and sent off people to recruit members. Once we touched down Incheon, we bumped into Krystal and another vengeful spirit had joined the party. When we first met her, Krystal had dropped off her sister Jessica who had successfully eloped with her American husband. As a Paragon citizen, migration was a problem and could be tedious, especially if one was related to a 'criminal' or in other words, someone who knew what a hole Paragon could be. So not only had Krystal managed to get herself blacklisted by the government, she had also as a result cut herself off from any medical supplied she needed for her anaemia. She dug her own grave, she did. 

"....you gotta deal with it. Get it?"

My wandering mind returned to the current situation upon hearing Krystal's cold and clear voice. She was ranting about something and when I saw her index finger stabbing Baekho's chest (a ridiculously cheeky grin on his perfect face), I realized Soldier Boy had said something awfully stupid. Before I could enquire what I had missed, the car came to a screeching halt. 

Everything fell dead silent and when Kris tweaked his robe to gain access to his sword, we all had our guns and other weapons in our hands. Hoya was already making signals to Seohyun, who was mounted on the bike next to our car. She lifted off one hand and gave a thumbs up sign, then pointed upfront. I leaned over the seat, my forearm resting on Chen's shoulder. 

"Sorry," I muttered. Chen though was least bothered and he gave a horrific glance to our neighbouring vehicles. I noticed his expression and patted his back. 

"You knew this was coming," I murmured and with a quick leap through the sunroof, sat atop the car. 

                                                                                        KAIRI

Sirens. Wailing sirens. 

That's what woke me up. With a sharp jolt, I snapped out of my uninvited doze and with a quick glare towards Lay, positioned myself in a more comfortable stance. Everyone's eyes were stationed ahead and when I squinted my eyes, a figure loomed over me, blocking my view. 

"Hey!" I hissed. The man turned around, his soft features and almond-shaped eyes taking me aback. He however was strong, for when I tried to push him away, he remained in place. 

"You can't be seen," he said. I froze and suddenly realized the meaning of the sirens. 

Police cars. Search patrols. 

"Where the hell are we?" I hissed again, this time in utter panic and confoundment. Had we walked right into a death trap?

I looked around and pain hovelled me when I recognized it as the clinic next to the Gangnam Underpass. There were lights flying everywhere, police vans, news reporters, medics.... 

"Something happened," Luhan said. "Switch on the radio."

Zico obeyed and seconds later, we were in the middle of a long-standing report. 

".... it seems like that there's no chance for them." The man had a lovely baritone but his laugh at the end of the sentence disgusted me. if they were laughing, it only meant one thing --- someone's life was at stake. 

"Well, whadaya think?" another man said, his nasal twang sending his first impression for a six. "This clearly sounds like a case of elopement, though with a brutal twist. I mean come on, what on earth were those two thinking? The guy is a respected official in the investigation bureau of the government, with a good pay and a great condo in Bukchon but oh no! He falls in love with the girl who is a minor and related to the disappearance of another thirteen year old girl who happens to be the disciple of Kairi Lee, who by the way, is a blatant symbol of disgrace to Paragon! This is as twisted as it seems!"

It was the first time hearing it, but the clarification of how my own people felt about me hit me like lightning. Blatant disgrace. That's what I was to Paragon. I was a guinea pig to my father, injected with chemicals before I could even grasp the meaning of the world. I was very unceremoniously dumped by my Partner, who at a late time I had realized was using me as a stairway to success. I was knowingly kept in the dark of how this system worked, my father's protective cocoon in actuality being a plastic bag ready to gag me if I tried to prod too much. 

Nicole lightly held my wrist and gave me a warm smile. She tilted her head to one side and asked if I was okay. 

I was okay. Now I was. 

"Who was your disciple?"

I turned to look at Luhan but before anything could be answered, I widened my eyes at the scene before me. 

Amber was atop the black Durango, giving the surroundings a once-over glance. She caught me looking at her and gave a small salute, right after which she jumped down to the ground and called for everyone to get out. 

Like ants moving up a hill, all of us stealthily exited our respective vehicles, save the drivers who were being led by Dongwoo to a safe parking lot. I saw Woohyun and was about to run towards him when I remembered the look on his face before I lost consciousness. He was confused and in agony. I was marked by Paragon and doubt had clouded his mind for a while.

I took a deep breath, but before I could think over that problem, I heard someone pulling me with them. 

"Stick with me," Baekho growled. He nodded at the almond-shaped guy who instantly left me and ran off towards the underpass. The sirens were getting closer and my heartbeat was beating at a pace too alien for me. 

"What's going on?" I asked. Baekho loosened his hold on me and grabbed my face. 

"You can fight," he said. It wasn't as much as a question as it was a statement. My eyes narrowed and I gave a stiff nod. He smiled, impressed and waved for me to follow him. 

I noticed the formation in which all of us were walking in and realized that unconsciously, all of us had positioned ourselves into four groups of wedges, a military position that Sungyeol and Hoya had extensively taught me in Paradise. I caught Dongwoo leading all the remaining members after the vehicles were disposed off, tilting his cap at me and giving a wild grin as he began walking next to me. 

"You ready?" he asked. I smirked. 

"Like spaghetti." 

                                                                                    KRIS

I watched as Kairi chatted with Dongwoo with utmost fervour, as if they were headed for a picnic and not a potential bloody battle. The sirens were just around the corner and the underpass which lead to the secret loft was less than ten feet away. It was only a matter of cruel coincidence that two runaways, headed for safety, were going to cross paths with us and in the midst of it all, the probability of our last seconds spent in a dark alley seemed close to a hundred percent. This part of Paragon was considered a mugger's hub and it was rare for anyone to be out at this time of the night. 

Which was why the sight of a young girl in a large white shirt, running around barefeet, caught my attention. 

I stopped and spun on my heels. It was my foresight, but I trusted it. I heard Tao call me out but it was too late. I was already moving away from the group, back to where we had just walked from. Woohyun tried to catch hold of me and when he did, something else happened.

The sound of glass crashing and the shrill call of an old woman made me run faster. I rounded out the corner of the street, just when five gun-shots rang out. I faced the group behind me and shouted, "RUN!!"

While silent chaos buzzed at the other end, I ran inside the small road and saw a young man and woman running away. He had a gun in his hand and lying infront of me was a girl with medical supplies in hand. I recognized her and everything clicked. 

"Come on Kri--" Amber tugged me then gasped. She stumbled a bit, the once upon a time beauty of the girl smashed by bullets. Her face was drilled, her white shirt was now painted by blood and as I remembered the news from the car....

"So it seems that Simon Park has been found by the Navy Base which is just... I mean, who the hell would do that?? The claim of a witness who said that Simon was by the Gwangju underpass has been ignored and police cars and vans are now headed towards the other end of the city. Meanwhile, whereabouts of Lauren Park are still unknown but its obvious that if Romeo has been found, then Juliet couldn't be far behind...."

Lauren sputtered out and I went down on my knees, holding her head up. I winced as she tried speaking, her words blubbered with blood and unrecognizable liquids spewing out of her face. 

"He sent you here," I said. "He sent you here and took off for the Navy Base. They won't find you now. He saved your life."

My voice broke at the last part but years of peaceful practice had taught me that a satisfactory death could compensate for even the most terrifying of lives. Little Lauren had suffered too much and when I saw the ghost of a smile on her face, the last stretch of movement from her, I knew I was right. 

I lifted her off the ground and with Amber right behind me, headed for the underpass. As we rounded towards the dark and wet corridors, we found the entire team waiting there. 

"Let the bad news go in first," Woohyun said, making space for me. I nodded and as soon as SungGyu banged a fist against the wall, we waited for our fate to greet us. The doors swung wide open and Jiyong, though taken aback by Lauren's body, collected himself once he saw someone behind me.

"Welcome home Kairi Lee," he said.